Leo Tyrell
Leo Tyrell is the Lord Paramount of the Mander, Lord of Highgarden, the current Warden of the South and High Marshal of the Reach. Biography Early Life Maester Mollander writes in his accounts that to understand the events taken by House Tyrell in the final years of King Edmund’s reign, they must first look to the sins of the father, and his father before him. That, however, is not the purpose of this manuscript, but an interesting thing to keep in mind as we look at the early years of Leo Tyrell, who himself was Lord of Highgarden, Lord Paramount of the Mander, Defender of the Marches, High Marshal of the Reach, and Warden of the South. Loras Tyrell, Leo’s father before him, was a man of many faces. In front of his peers he was charming in a manner which was almost effortless, around his close and immediate family he was often wroth, a demon for the drink, and before his mother he was reduced to a petulant child. Elinor Tyrell has become somewhat a fascination amongst followers of the Reach’s history in recent years, her influence on her son during the span of his tenure as Lord Paramount largely kept from the books, as it were; a wraith about Highgarden, pulling the strings from the gloom. Born the only child to her own father, Elinor was betrothed to her first cousin, named Victor, early in her life. By sixteen she had flowered into a woman considered a beauty, scarce a place within or outwith her father’s demesne she could go without drawing appreciative glances. Yet Elinor did not want to be pretty - or, to be more apt, she did not pay attention to it. Elinor instead was intent on a life of command. Her father blamed himself; he had indulged his daughter her every whim, and so when she had set her mind upon something come hell or high water she would have it. When he ordered that none of his own men were to show his daughter the sword, she found her own tutor, and took lessons in the wee hours, away from the keep itself. When he discovered that she had disobeyed him and confined her to her chambers, she found a way to sneak free to continue with her teacher. Her illicit tutelate continued for year before he finally relented, grumbling that if she was as well set on it he could at least find her a half-decent knight. We do not know the course of Elinor’s life in full, in part because she herself had most mention of her name erased. What we do know is that Loras did not the fit the mould she had hoped, and in turn treated him as dead weight. In Loras’ eldest son she did not have the same inclination, or refused to let the same mistake happen twice. Mayhaps she believed she had not taken enough responsibility for Loras’ upbringing, mayhaps she did not trust her son to raise his own heir, or mayhaps it was another in a long string of subtle displays of her power, but Elinor decided quickly that she would see to giving Leo the education she felt necessary. Loras Tyrell is considered a strong figure but the truth is more damning than that, for every major decision Loras made was made instead by his mother. Everything he improved, implemented, everything he is credited for having brought to the Reach, a lie; a sham. Elinor Tyrell ruled the Reach, and Elinor Tyrell twisted Leo Tyrell into the man he became. Mollander, who had been Maester at Highgarden long since before his birth, writes that oft did Leo observe, certainly one to watch more than he spoke. Some considered him slow, as he grew, but Mollander was more clever than that, and deigned watched the watcher. The boy said little, but that did not mean he was not paying attention. Elinor took charge of Leo’s education upon his fifth name-day. Loras pitched a fit that lasted hours, that could be heard echoing about Highgarden’s halls. But he would not argue with his mother, for long had Elinor Tyrell had her claws set deep into her son. By that point Victor Tyrell had long since passed on. Elinor Tyrell would take him away from Highgarden, to a manse she had taken for her own on the banks of the Mander, built as a summer house for the Gardeners and taken by the Tyrells when they had gained the Reach, away from the clutches of an apathetic mother and a resentful father. They began with the histories of the Great Houses, of the major wars and battles, of the Kings going back to Aegon the Conqueror and their follies; where they had taken a fork in the road which had soured their reign. In each lesson was a cautionary tale; and Leo did not only listen, he understood. He was but five, but given the span of a moon or two the boy came to respect and fear his Grandmother in equal measure, for certainly she had her designs on the Reach, and a way in which she wanted the region to go. After the histories they moved to languages, to book, to tactics and on, and on. In the first five years Leo learned much, and his habit of watching shifted into something else. The silent spectre became a source of light and heat and laughter, for Elinor had been clear enough, those with friends go farther than those without, and so Leo’s disposition became one of practiced gregariousness. There were few about Highgarden who did not know him, in time. He saw his father and mother, and the rest of his siblings, rarely, and it suited him well enough. The Wolf in the Garden/Return to Highgarden Upon his tenth name day Elinor delivered him the news, he would return to Highgarden, for Lord Stark had agreed to have his son and heir warded with Leo’s family. He would make the journey back to a home he had not seen in half a decade, older now, mayhaps wiser beyond hid years, but glad for the break from his Grandmother’s lessons. Leo Tyrell met first with his mother, who greeted him with the ghost of a smile, and even at his age he could recognise the sweet-sick smell of stale alcohol about her. His father did not bother to attend, busy hunting, his mother had told him, he would be back in a couple of days. He was reunited with his siblings; Mace, who himself was a year younger than Leo, the twins Alicent and Olenna, who were two years younger, and Luthor, the youngest amongst them, at only three years old. He enjoyed good relationships with his siblings, who were glad enough to see their eldest brother returned, Mace in particular, whom Leo had oft looked out for. Only days later would Jon Stark arrive, a playful boy of ten as well, and the two bonded quick as you’d like. For six years Jon Stark remained at Highgarden, and together the two boys grew well into young men. Their days were spent sweating beneath the sun in the practice yard, and their evenings, too, for neither lad was content with one span of martial training. They would run miles around Highgarden, and dare one another to swim to the other side of the Mander even when it flowed in a rage. The two became inseparable, as though the icy North melted from Jon, and he took the the Southron way of life easily. There’s was a youth unmarred by tragedy, and in Jon, Leo found an escape from a family whose secrets he did not know, but hung over him all the same. They were instructed in the sword by a number of teachers, not least amongst them Ser Garlan Tyrell, the second son of Victor and Elinor Tyrell, who was in his own right a celebrated Knight. They learned from Ser Renly Roxton, who showed them his blade of Valyrian Steel. Once or twice they received visits from Roland Baelish, who came now and then to visit Leo’s father, but never failed to engage the boys despite their youth. Towards the end of Jon’s warding, both young men began to attract female attention, and though Jon was never as confident in his ability to draw the eye as Leo, one could not deny they made a dashing pair. But as with all good things, it would not last forever, and in 380AC Jon Stark was recalled from Highgarden, to make the journey back North once more. On the day he was to leave Leo embraced his friend, whom he had decided was a brother by bond, and uttered a farewell beneath his breath, though he flashed Jon a toothy smile to indicate it was not a goodbye. And then Jon was gone, and Leo was left again with a family which he knew did not work, but on he continued, back to his Grandmother’s lessons. Leo Tyrell was knighted by Ser Renly Roxton midway through 360AC, at sixteen, for aiding his Uncle Garlan and a cadre of Knights in bringing to justice a roving band of outlaws who sought to burn and rape across the lands around Old Oak, cutting them down to a man before they mananged to escape across the border and into the Westerlands. The Horn Calls In 381AC Brynden Baelish’s rebellion kicked off across the Realm, and Loras Tyrell, who had become increasingly drawn into his cups, put his eldest son in charge of leading the Tyrell hosts. Just seventeen, many had doubts over Leo’s ability to command, though these doubts would not dog him for very long. They would be beset by treachery from the outset, with Lord Hightower deigning to siege Highgarden. Leo took charge, for his father only sank deeper into his drink. Word came that the Ironborn had been allowed to raid the lands of the rebelling Reachlords, and once they had burned Oldtown Hightower broke off his siege, taken on the road on their march home, the Lord and his sons were cut down by reavers brought by the King. Leo wasted no time in mobilising his men, taking his Uncle Garlan along with his two sons, Alester and Alessander, Leo’s own brother Mace, and his Uncle Garth. They marched first to Brightwater Keep, where the Lord Florent offered his surrender, for mercy in exchange for his son and heir, a hostage granted to Highgarden for their betrayal, and then to Bitterbridge, where Leo’s host linked with his cousin Luthor’s and smashed the rebels in a crushing victory, though it was not until after the battle that word came from Highgarden; Loras Tyrell had died at thirty-eight, succeeded by his eldest son. Leo took up his father’s title. And in this is where sources vary, for the official tale is that Loras Tyrell, beset by demons of the mind, took his own life, though the truth is a touch more tinged through with tragedy, for Loras Tyrell preferred the company of other men, and though he had married and done his duty well, he had never loved his wife as he should have. He had taken a lover some years prior, named Garse Florent, a relation to the main branch. He had kept this affair secret, but few things escape Elinor Tyrell. Some claim Loras’ mother planted the cupbearer who would attract Loras’ eye, other that it was simply bad timing, but Garse discovered Loras abed with the boy all the same, and cut the Lord Paramount down before taking his own life as well. At Bitterbridge a number of rebel Lords were either captured or surrendered, their resolve smashed to fractals by a cavalry charge led by Leo and his cousin Luthor, and upon the next morning Leo demanded renewed oaths of fealty from each, though none of those he had captured were treated terribly badly, for they were still men of the Reach, after all, his countrymen. With the Hightowers exiled, it was felt prudent by King Edmund that a cadet branch of his own House was placed in charge of Oldtown, leading to the Tyrells of Oldtown, headed by Luthor Tyrell. Upon his return to Highgarden, the war done, Leo found himself in a different position to that of which he had left. He was Lord Paramount in his own right, now, the Lord of Highgarden in true. It was here the Quiet War would begin, fought in the shadows and mostly with words, between Elinor Tyrell and her grandson. Leo had understood enough about the relationship between Elinor and Loras to grasp that his Grandmother desired control, but if the rebellion had taught him anything it was that he would remain solely in charge of his lands, and would not fall at the same hurdle as his father, who, if rumour was to be believed, had not taken his own life at all, but instead had his snatched away by a jealous lover. With the destruction wrought across his lands, Leo put to good use his enjoyment of design and the wealth of his House to aid towns and villages affected by the war, repairing houses and defences where need be. His second act was to decree a knightly order, which he dubbed the Knights of the Thorn, for men who had fought with utmost courage in the name of their homeland. Their role would mostly be as a household guard, though some admitted would not be expected to perform this duty, rather given it on ceremony alone. Luthor Tyrell and Leo’s brother, Mace Tyrell, were dubbed Knights of the Thorn, along with Ser Renly Roxton. Once things were largely under control in the Reach, Leo then took his aid up into the Riverlands, to aid the newly appointed Lord Paramount Roland Baelish in efforts to rebuild, and after that toward Lord Gawen Baratheon in the Stormlands, for Cape Wrath had been particularly blighted by the war. The Rose and the Kraken In 386AC a warning came to Highgarden with the Kraken seal of the Greyjoys stamped upon its face. A raven from Lord Harras Greyjoy, who warned Leo of an approaching fleet made up of rogue Ironborn reavers. Acting with haste Leo called together what force he could muster and sent word to the Shields, and within the moon he met with Lord Greyjoy to coordinate a counter-attack. It was upon the very same banks that the Lords Tyrell and Greyjoy agreed to join their Houses through Harras’ sister, named Gwynn. The wedding was held at Highgarden just after they welcomed a new year, in 387AC, with Reachlords and Ironborn in attendance, and a grand tourney to match. She has borne him two children; a son, who they named Mace, after Leo’s brother, and a daughter, who they named Asha, after Gywnn’s mother. But Gwynn’s hand and an alliance with the Ironborn who had plagued their coastlines for centuries was not all that came to Leo Tyrell, for at the wedding he was approached by Ravos Drumm, unknown to him before that night, and a glad thing he was, for it was Ravos Drumm’s warning regarding Ser Caspar Hunt, a Captain in Leo’s household guard, that likely saved the young Lord’s life. The Captain had seen fit to plot against his liege, to strike at the Lord the night of his wedding, seeing some slight in a Reachman wedding an Ironborn woman, whom Ser Hunt considered below them. Ser Caspar would not sing his song himself, but his co-conspirators would not hold their tongue to die for him, and so the plot unravelled, and each man was sentenced to die. When asked if he regretted as much, Leo only replied that they ‘had little room for small-minded men in the Reach.’ Recent Events Since then Leo Tyrell has cemented his place as Lord Paramount of the Mander by way of feasts and tourneys, and though his men did not fight in the Dorne-Triarchy War, he did visit his childhood friend, Hand of the King Jon Stark, toward the war’s conclusion. He is known across the wider Realm as a man who is effortlessly charming and equally as confident, a strong commander with a proven record in victory, and a stable Head of his House. He is open handed with his friends and committed in his efforts to aid in rebuilding. Now the hour draws ever nearer, King Edmund fades further with each new day, and there are those about the Reach who mislike that Leo would not raises his banners alongside Brynden Baelish; more immediately pressing comes from word received from his Grandmother, for Leo’s own son has seen his fifth name-day pass, and Elinor Tyrell desires her due, as she had done with Leo in his youth. Travelling to King’s Landing with his family in tow, Leo well understands that the game is afoot. Bio-Timeline * 364AC - Leo Tyrell is born to Lord Loras and his wife, followed swiftly by his brother the following year, and his sister the year after that * 369AC - Leo’s education is taken over by his Grandmother, Lady Elinor Tyrell; he is taken from Highgarden and out to a manse upon the banks of the Mander * 374AC - Elinor informs Leo he is to return to Highgarden, to make friends with Lord Rickard Stark’s firstborn son. The two make fast friends * 380AC - Young men, now, Jon and Leo have become bonded through their friendship, brothers by any other name. Jon journeys back to the North later that same year * 381AC to 384AC - Brynden Baelish raises his banners in rebellion, Loras tasks Leo with the command of their host, though they are trapped inside Highgarden when Lord Hightower comes with a siege in mind. The siege is broken when the Ironborn reave Oldtown, and on the march home the Hightowers are ambushed. Leo mobilises his host, striking out first for Brightwater Keep to accept the surrender of the Florents, and then for Bitterbridge, where they link with a host led by Luthor Tyrell to defeat the treacherous Lords. Leo takes Allester Florent as a hostage. * Recent Years - Leo spent time and money aiding his lands rebuild after the war, and indeed even aided the Riverlands and their Lord Paramount Roland Baelish in his own efforts to repair his kingdom. Since he has cemented himself as a reliable Lord Paramount, no stranger to feasts and tourneys, and anything which involves indulgence. Family Tree Supporting Characters Immediate Family Elinor Tyrell, Grandmother - 67 Leo Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden, Lord Paramount of the Mander - 26 Gwynn Tyrell nee Greyjoy, Wife - 28 Mace Tyrell, Son - 5 Asha Tyrell, Daughter - 4 Mace Tyrell, Brother, Knight of the Thorn - 25 Elinor Tarly, Wife - 22 Harlan Tyrell - 4 Bethany Tyrell - 3 Alicent Tyrell, Sister, Ambassador for the Reach - 24 Olenna Tyrell, Sister - 23 Lucas Tyrell, Brother - 22 Margaery Tyrell, Sister - 20 Knights of the Thorn Serving Lord Commander, Ser Renly Roxton, The Dauntless, Admitted to the Order for Faithful Service to his Liege Lord - 47 Ser Uther Peake, Dusk’s Arm, For his Bravery During the Battle at Bitterbridge - 43 Ser Franklyn Cockshaw, The Stalwart Shield, For Remaining Steadfast During the Battle at Bitterbridge - 38 Ser Barris Chester, The Fury, for his Fearlessness During the Battle at Bitterbridge - 27 Ser Samwell Beesbury, For Holding his Line When all About Him Were Cut Down During the Battle at Bitterbridge - 35 Ser Alyn Oakheart, The Bold Oak, For Refusal to Abandon his Post During the Battle at Bitterbridge - 37 Ser Aubrey Bulwer, The Black Bull, for Defending the Lord Paramount’s Life During the Wedding at Highgarden - 36 Ceremonial Lord Alester Fossoway, Knighted for his Courage, Valour, and his Actions During the Battle at Bitterbridge, Securing a Victory for the Loyalist Host Lord Alliser Fossoway, Knighted for his Bravery, Resourcefulness, and Cunning During the Battle at Bitterbridge Lord Edwyn Tarly, Admitted for an Unfaltering Loyalty to his Countrymen The Remembered Dead; Lord Grandon Merryweather, Who Lived and Died for his Home, Posthumous Ser Willas Fossoway, In Life and Death a Champion of the Reach, Posthumous Ser Ronnet Redwyne, Redvine, For Giving his Life that Another Could Live, Posthumous Ser Marq Tarly, Who Earned his Rest Through Noble Spirit, Gone too Soon Ser Owen Tarly, Who Stood Iron Willed with his Kin to the End, Gone too Soon The Rose Council Steward - Lord Edwyn Tarly High Justiciar for the Reach - Lord Alester Fossoway, Appointed in 384AC Master of the Mint - Admiral of the Fleet - Marshal for the Reach - Lord Alliser Fossoway, Appointed in 383AC Master of Secrets - Category:House Tyrell Category:Reachman Category:Warden